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In a previous post about racism, I had mentioned that racism in America is still active, deeply rooted, and growing. Thank you, Thom, for putting a name to it.
I think, the only way to end racism is to teach people, starting at an early age, to control "The Tribal Instinct". In the TRUE non-racist, the tribal instinct is deeply buried, and has no affect on the persons behaviour; in the hard-core racist, the tribal instinct is in full control, defeating rational thought and fueling the flames of hatred. Most people fall somewhere in between the two extremes; I consider myself to be a little racist because I'm more likely to be afraid of a large black man than a large white man. But I would never refuse to hire any person because of their skin color. I'll admit that right now I have no black friends, though I do have a few Hispanic friends; but most of my friends are white. But, my little world is mostly white or hispanic, for now; that may change someday.
Anyway, I know that I will not live long enough to see a truly non-racist America; even with the most intense anti-racism educational programs, it will be several generations before racism is deeply buried (it will never be gone).
Control the tribal instinct and be happier.
Change violence to violins
It would make sense if our elected officials weren't in bed with our enemies already.
We all remember Stephen Bechtel and his brazen remarks that what Bechtel does is no concern of the public's, because Bechtel is doing business with the government.
The truth is, those exploiters who got the jump on fair commerce eventually decided that it would be easier to BECOME the government than to fight or worry about government interference.
Our Department of the Interior has been occupied by insiders since the days of the Indian land cessions and treaties. They have not gone away, and there are notorious instances in history where self-dealing has been noted, but swept under the carpet.
From federal government corruption spreads to state departments of transportation and utilities in order to force public bond issues which benefit contractor friends on the inside, and the banks holding the money.
The insurance funds are the casualty bonders of these projects, and throughout history, Bechtel was the only company who could afford the required government bond for the big projects. No one could bid against Bechtel. He was backed up for the Hoover Dam by Aetna. Aetna also funded The Manhattan Project.
Keystone XL is bonded by Travelers Casualty and Insurance Company of America. In 1954 Indiana, the head of the State Department of Transportation was also a director of Travelers. He was indicted for accepting bribes for road contracts. He took money, developed Sebring Shores, Florida, and refused to go back to Indiana for his trial, saying he was too sick. Later he claimed insanity and the whole issue was forgotten.
Further, Keystone XL has what is called a "clone" pipeline called Enbridge, in the spirit of Enron. When you have clones, you have double books to put one over on the examiner.
Wouldn't it make sense if ALL corporations had some limit on their net worth, say 10 billion dollars (Just saying 'cause I don't know the correct amount). When they reach that net worth point all of their assets automatically become property of the federal (or maybe state) government so that our ELECTED officials can determine the corporation's future directions, hopefully taking our vast population and the future environment into consideration. Our nation and civilization, that served as the environment that nurtured a once fledgling corporation and has ultimately enabled it to reach its state of success deserves more than just taxes. When a corporation reaches the limit for net worth, it's time for that corporation to give all that 'growth' back to the nation that made it possible.
The CEO, officers and board would now answer to the government instead of to the stockholders. The stock would retain its current value. All voting stock would belong to the government. Every voting American would now be represented on any issue requiring a vote at the grown-too-big corporation meetings. That's the change, but it's a big change for the people of America.
Socialism is Capitalism 2.0.
John Wesley started Methodism in the 1730s, and died in 1791. Seventh-Day Adventism started in 1863. The Jehovah's witnesses started in the 1870s.
(Side note: How do I keep getting logged out in the middle of the show? It used to take at least a day for that to happen. I could stay logged in all week, as long as I kept showing up.)
The question is, aren't the carbon lords really the top of the food chain BUT are also the lords of the legal opium trade?
If the financing of the pipeline were investigated by a forensic accountant in conjunction with the trail of missing assets of ENRON, Indymac, and Fannie Mae, I believe exposure of criminal fraud would prevent the banks and bondholders from proceeding.
Everybody try and get this- Pipelines are for more than transferring fuel. Pipelines transfer illegally obtained cash in the form of their mortgage bonds, land acquisitions, and land and equipment leases.
Which insurance lord is bonding the project?
Who gets to purchase the pipeline mortgage bonds?
Are these Pipeline Mortgage Bonds held inside the "Blind Trusts" our government officials have to use?
Two points: when local authorities here in California respond to a call of a bear roaming in the neighborhood, they make every effort to capture him alive and relatively unhurt. They use tranquilizer guns, nets, and other tools. But we seem to afford no such humanity to an unarmed human being. Given press reports, more than 90% of the bears are captured and rendered harmless, unharmed.
Secondly, when I went through basic military training, they took over 10 weeks to develop instincts in me to react to kill any threating enemy. When GIs return from deployment, many as long as 7 or more years of service, the government doesn't even spend 1 week de-programming those soldiers to o longer have those instincts in their sub-conscious or reactive mind. At a minimum, this is a disservice to society. Instead, we choose to put weapons in their hands and release them into society. And lately, we dress them just like soldiers in Iraq, hand them the same kind of weapons, and tell them the public is "the enemy". Why should we be surprised their first instinct is to kill?
If anybody should share in the guilt, it is us and our government officials, and our military. De=programming should be mandatory, and no soldier should be released into society until they are proven free of their inserted instinct to kill.
That's right, chuckle8, a bumper sticker would be handy, but where I live you can get shot on the interstate for just being you. It is the biggest problem, making what was intended to be an indetectable racket, which is ages old, into something everyone gets in one sentence, or even a short paragraph.
True, I was a child when Kitty and Tom Poston were stars of "To Tell the Truth" so I never noted the spelling of her name. They were both so absolutely smart and good at playing the game I have come to think they were post-war intel agents, for "the nice" side of Hollywood, in the aftermath of the Hollywood blacklists of writers and authors. Again, as of 1947 the CIA was two-faced, one face belonging to Prescott Bush who did not have America's best interests in mind. The other face, the real agents who thought they were serving their country, were kept out of Prescott's loop.
Well, you lead a horse to water...the fact is, we are living genetically embedded traumas of our ancestors and it is an impediment. The Eugenics Society of Harriman & Rockefeller wanted to rid the world of those who were "burdens" on society by causing their bloodlines to die out.
The rest of us just needed to be beaten into submission with images of mushroom clouds, fallout shelters, interment camps, and massive destruction of property. As a child I had anxiety about these things which didn't make sense. I did feel threatened that something bad could happen any moment, and when the 1960's came along, I was old enough to get my own dose of terror, firsthand, to pass along as anxiety to my offspring.
Now what are the children dealing with? They could be killed just by being in school.
"If we can seize the assets of Drug Lords, we can surely seize the assets of the Carbon Lords as well." - 2950-10K
Just in case you missed these words.
PoPo is the 'hood's nicname for Police.
Very true, ckrob. Veterans should not be beat cops. But Protect, an organization that fights child abuse and especially child sexual abuse, has been hiring veterans to do investigative work, and it's making a difference--actually two differences.
Interesting call about police lying. Somehow, you're not allowed to lie to them, but they're allowed to lie to you. Now, the caller was talking about illicit lying, but there's also the condoned sort, where the police "interrogation" actually consists of them telling you what you did--a process that has been proven recently to have the ability to change people's memories, thereby getting false confessions.
The most important thing in training police is to indoctrinate them in the goal of actual justice, not just of convicting somebody, anybody.
leighmf -- Thanks for all the details. Now your task is figure how to put it on a bumper sticker.
Google has no kitty carlyle they call her kitty carlisle which they point out as the person on to tell the truth.
No one seems to be discussing the very interesting difference between epigenetics and eugenics.
Certainly vets should have massive help in reintegration into civilian life. However, police service should be the last job a vet should serve in if they were trained in battle skills. The ingrained automatic reflexes are not what we would want in armed personnel on our own streets. Until we can treat PTSD very effectively, we need to think very deeply about this matter.
In 2016 gloomy is going to look like the good ol' days.
PAL -- Unfortunately they are only available in a limited number of areas. They are not available in my zip code.
Under the cause of the drug war and being prepared for that terrorist attack looming just around the corner they garner too much of the peoples wealth, wealth and power that they won't easily relinquish.
Thank you so much. I really value your kind thoughts.This is a really great article. It's so informational and I'm glad that I learned something new today just by visiting your blog.
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Thanks Marc! I love my trail bike and my racing bike. Muscle power rocks. - AIW
P.S. What the hell is "PoPo"?!!!
The gloomy time in markets will likely to remain in this year that is what I think, do not take it other wise. Soon there will be a result from Israel.
We're getting DSL "high speed" internet from Verizon for about $60 a month and it bloody sucks. On-again-off-again; reboot, reboot, reboot! (SIGH) - AIW
Leighmf, do I detect a bit of sarcasm in your reply?
I don't believe it's anyone's ambition or intent to "have the place to ourselves". Certainly not mine. But like Mark says, you need a certain amount of psychic armor in this kind of environment. Some people can handle it, some can't. Speaking for myself, I have no sense of entitlement to any space occupied by another blogger, nor am I interested in employing "bully tactics", playing the role of "thought police" or putting the "fear of God" in anyone. Like most of the participants here, I have strong opinions and welcome the opportunity to express them. For us lefties & progressives, that's nothing to take for granted.
I get a certain kind of stimulation here that I'd craved for a very long time before stumbling into this forum. I didn't realize how hungry I was for this before I found it. There's lots of people here who are smart, articulate and have interesting perspectives, who I've enjoyed conversing with on a variety of issues and topics, and I've learned a lot from them. I also appreciate the opportunity to answer many of the lame-ass talking points of conservatives who, until I started blogging, always had the podium to themselves while all I could do was yell at the TV.
Anyway Leighmf, it is what it is. A blog, full of opinionated people. Take it or leave it. - Aliceinwonderland
Aliceinwonderland ~ Bicycles trump EV's any day. So do MoPeds and anything under 750CC. You see, EV's take a vast amount of fossil fuels to charge. Lot's of energy wasted in the conversion process. Small ICE's don't. They just take a small amount of fossil fuels to run. Clean transportation energies also includes a good long walk and public transportation, So, I say, save your money and get your exercise--guilt free...
Mr. Scott, while I agree in principle, I don't think our budget will accommodate a new car right now. I don't have a spare $10,000 or $15,000 lying around. Sorry to disappoint.